Business
Looking for positive and inspiring business stories? From green operations to employee rights, from innovative corporate structures to diversity and inclusion, the Business section at The Optimist Daily has got the latest innovative solutions from the corporate sector.
A trip to Africa inspired these friends to create a global platform for artisans
In 2012, best pals Lauren Conrad (The Hills, fashion designer & author) and Hannah Skvarla took a trip to Africa that changed their lives. The local women they met with expressed their need for a reliable source of income to support their Read More...
Fair Trade - A people based solution to poverty and exploitation
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Chocolate once reigned supreme in Central America: The Mayans considered it the food of the gods, and they used cocoa beans as a form of currency. But the birthplace of chocolate has benefitted little from the chocolate boom — despite that this is where most of Read More...
Fair-trade deals provide safety net for Ivorian cocoa producers
In Ivory Coast, cocoa once guaranteed farmers a sweet life. Then the world's number one producer was whacked, as oversupply and falling demand from health-conscious consumers hit Read More...
Walmart is deploying the blockchain to stop bacterial outbreaks for its produce
To protect against the possibility of bacterial outbreaks for its leafy greens, Walmart is making use of a blockchain system to track the shipments of their produce. That way, Walmart can trace the vegetables’ path from the farm to the store in order to find the source of any potential outbreak Read More...
Is this finally the beginning of the end for the password?
Passwords are under attack in a war on multiple fronts. Just today, Microsoft announced the rollout of password-free login using its Microsoft Authenticator app while the digital security company Yubikey announced a new version of its USB security keys that forgo the need for passwords Read More...
Microsoft is offering up its AI technology to humanitarian groups
Microsoft has launched a third humanitarian program under the company’s AI for Good Initiative. Over the next five years, the program will put $40 million towards initiatives focused on four priorities—disaster response, needs of children, refugees, and displaced people and human rights. The Read More...
Norway's newest ships give a glimpse into the future of sustainable seafaring
Western Norway’s rustic port village of Flåm, a remote goat-farming hamlet and summer escape set deep among the region’s icy fjords and towering, snow-capped peaks seems an unlikely launch site for the future of sustainable nautical Read More...
This company is helping the homeless find jobs that also provide a home
A real estate company based out of Washington DC is helping homeless people find work and a home in one fell swoop. How? By hiring homeless candidates to work as property managers for apartment complexes and allowing them to live on-site for cheap. This not only helps those without a home, but also Read More...
Ten years since Occupy Wall Street, the cooperative movement is surging
Last week marked the seventh anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement and 10 years since the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers, which triggered the onset of the global financial crisis. The crisis also sparked massive global anti-capitalist movements, including Occupy Wall Read More...
Co-op is going to replace all of its single-use plastic bags
Co-op, a popular supermarket chain in the UK, has announced plans to replace old single-use plastic bags with compostable shopping bags. The company estimates the new bags will save around 60 million plastic bags from ending up in landfills. The compostable shopping bags, which also double as Read More...